Endorsements

Events

"We would like to thank you and Kiran for the fantastic performance. We really appreciate everything you have done for our event. Thanks again." - Kash Rais— Kash Rais, November 27th, 2018

"I just wanted to take a moment to thank you so so much for your performance at our wedding on Sept.7th. Your sitar playing and singing along with Santosh's tabla accompaniment really made the Conservation Area feel like paradise. We received so many compliments on the music and we will definitely keep you in our contact list for future events."— Priya and Athar, September 13th, 2018

"Thank you for the lovely musical experience. The guests LOVED your performance!! The experience of working with you was so seamless!"— Israa and Feraz, September 12th, 2018

"We had the pleasure of attending a wedding reception where you not only played the sitar but also sang in Hindi/Urdu. Must tell you that you were superb... I loved the soft melodies. Although I have watched your performance on your web-site and found them wonderful ... I must admit that hearing you in person was even better. It was mind-blowing. Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the evening hearing you as well as playing on the sitar. Everyone enjoyed the evening... your contribution was the greatest. Thank you very much. Looking forward to listening to you again."— Meera Agarwal, September 8th, 2018

You two were amazing and you made such a difference to our party last night. Everyone loved your music and as our son said, you just adapted so well to whatever was going on. It was just on such a high level.— L. Mitchell, July 14th, 2018

Thank you and Ozzy for great performances yesterday! It was absolutely legendary and it was a pleasure to have you both a part of our sangeet night!.— Priya, February 26th, 2018

Thanks you so much for the beautiful music, your generosity. The calm and cool way you handled some of the issues, especially during a time of stress when we wanted everything to go perfect was nothing short of professional. Your music was perfect for the event, a flawless performance. You were constantly aware as to when to take a break and also the tempo for that particular moment. I may not have had enough exchange in terms of what I preferred, I did not have to!
Thank you for playing with your heart, spirit. Each one of us felt it through all the chatter. I can only imagine that if the room was silent how beautiful it would have sounded. It was an amazing experience to hear you and Santosh. All guests and Friends truly enjoyed the music and complimented me hundreds of times— Shams Hirji, October 31st, 2017

Thank you and Ozzie for a wonderful performance at our wedding this past Saturday at Bombay Palace. We are receiving accolades from the attendees who were amazed at your exceptional music and singing. People have been requesting your contact information and I am directing them to your website. Again, thank you for making our wedding day filled with great memories.— Maninder (Raj) and Meeta, October 24th, 2017

Our wedding was made truly memorable having Chris and Santosh perform. Our guests couldn’t stop raving about their performance, both instrumental and Bollywood classics. Thank you for making our wedding so very special.— Andrew and Alka (Newly Weds), October 22nd, 2017

Everyone told me he was singing well and they really enjoyed his style of singing. They were all surprised, being Canadian, how well he was speaking Hindi! One of my friends said that next time he will just sit in front and listen to his music.— Sujata Jain, August 8th, 2017

Just wanted to take a minute and thank you for joining us on our special day and delighting us with your performance. It was truly enjoyed by everyone present.— Sara and Ibrahim, August 20th, 2017

You guys were the highlight of the night. We received multiple comments on how amazing you guys sounded. I really appreciate your professisionalism. We will definitely use you in our future events and will recommend you to our friends and family." - Asad Quershy and Mashal Sheikh, May 2nd— Asad Quershy and Mashal Sheikh, May 2nd, 2017

I just wanted to take this moment to extend my gratitude and say thank you for the wonderful job you and your partner did playing at my brother's Nikah. I had several guests ask me throughout the evening as to "where did you find this guy." Everyone enjoyed your music and I
appreciate your professionalism. I will most definitely be using the service again in the future. Again, thank you.— Haris Qureshy, May 3rd, 2017

I requested Chris to perform at an intimate celebration for my mothers 80th birthday. The melodic, heartfelt music that Chris created filled our home and elevated all present. It will never be forgotten.— Dr. Yasmin Harrison

We most enjoyed having you both at our home, sharing your music and selves with our friends and family, far flung and near. It is of course work to coordinate a gathering, however it was rewarding to have it returned with joy and peace, an enviable combination. Music outside is special; when I sat down to enjoy, it was a spell of sunlight to gather gratitude and memories, shared and private. Thank you for the last minute flexibility with the time, you made life easier to co-ordinate all. It was mesmerizing during the eve, it is memorable today.— Suzanne Dasgupta

Thank you for coming to Sarnia and making the party so special. So many people said wonderful things about your music and singing. I think people around this way will be calling you in the near future. Take care and once again thank you for coming and making it a simply wonderful evening for us.— Pawan and Baljit

Christopher performed for our group of family and friends at our wedding in July of 2016. One of my favourite moments of my wedding was walking into the courtyard where he was playing and hearing the beautiful music. I was immediately filled with peace and joy on an already special, yet hectic day. He is incredibly talented and also very easy to communicate with. Very highly recommended. Thank you so much for being part of our special day and for the beautiful memories.— Naila

First of all let me thank you and your colleague on tabla for an outstanding performance on our daughter’s homecoming reception. All our friends went on social media saying ‘it’s our kind of an evening.’ I believe your stage set-up was fantastic; in the open air surrounded by nature. Thank you very much for your outstanding performance that night….it made a world of difference to all of us.— Vilvan Gunasingham

It was a pleasure working with you on the “Family get together Summer event of Vahia Family”. I and my wife Meena were pleasantly surprised when you agreed to arrive in Detroit the night before and after only four hours sleep attended our function and entertained group of 120 people with scintillating classical and Bollywood music. Our friends are still thanking us for exposing them to your talent. We wish we will have a chance in future to work on another project. Thanks again.— Tapan & Meena Vahia

We highly recommend Christopher Hale as a unique and very talented performer of Bollywood songs on sitar and as a singer. As an upscale wedding planning company, we only recommend the absolute best and Christopher’s talent is unmatched. He always wows and delights the guests at our weddings, we are honoured to continue to work with him.— Raana Chaudhry, Sapna Weddings, www.sapnaweddings.com

Chris played at our wedding last summer and it was definitely one of the highlight moments. We had many musicians and musical enthusiasts who traveled from India and Europe for the wedding and all were enthralled and continue to speak about the performance. I would highly recommend him to anyone.— Dr. Raj Das Gupta

It was such a delight to have Christopher Hale perform during our Indian wedding ceremony. My wife’s choice of track was ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ which he performed effortlessly. All of our guests came from different parts of the world, and they all commented positively on the performance. Thoroughly recommend such a great talent.— Daniel Naqui

Mohit and I would like to you thank you so much for making our wedding day so memorable. All our guests really enjoyed your music, we received endless compliments! It definitely set a nice ambience for our wedding ceremony. You are truly amazing at what you do, & Mohit and I will not hesitate to recommend you to our family and friends. Thank you so much from the bottom of our heart.— Mohit & Manvir

Teaching

Chris teaches with expertise and with deep care and patience. He has attentively helped me to strike a balance between my own interests and those theories and techniques that are fundamentally important for learning sitar and Hindustani music.— Matthew James, student of ethnomusicology at University of Toronto, Canada

Chris’s gift for playing sitar also extends to teaching the instrument with tremendous patience, good-humour and above all encouragement, to bring out the best in the learner. I have benefitted tremendously from the many hours I have spent learning from Chris and I have experienced much encouragement to persevere with the sitar.— John Ruston, Oxford, England

Chris Hale is not only a brilliant and knowledgeable sitarist and all around friendly man, his patience and continuous encouragement keeps me at what otherwise could be a daunting task. He also teaches both simple kirtans and bhajans and classical raga playing.— Duke Vipperman, Diocese of Toronto, Canada

Chris Hale is the only teacher I know who can truly bridge the worlds of Western pop/rock music and North Indian Classical music. Rock guitar has been my primary instrument but not too long ago I fell in love with the sitar. Given my musical background, tackling the sitar seemed insurmountable…then I met Chris Hale. It’s a little known secret that Chris is a fantastic guitar player and has spent some time with rock & roll. Well, Chris was able to take Classical Indian music with all it’s intricacies and “unpack” the fundamentals of the sitar in a manner that even a white guy like me could understand. In fact, Chris did such a wonderful job helping me develop on sitar that I now study with his guruji once a year. Chris will always be a tremendous source of inspiration and guidance for me. He constantly pushes me to traverse deeper into the nuances of my sitar playing while never forgetting that I’m still and will always be a guitarist by trade.— Christopher Lee Freeman, Detroit, MI, USA